Silver
by Tagheirn
Summary: He wasn't supposed to be there. He wasn't meant to join them on their journey. So what happens when his destiny is rewritten to go along with theirs? Unlike the Spirits his companions acquire, he is given but a single Digi-Egg, and the overwhelming urge to protect it. As each Spirit is gathered, the egg seems to grow, and as the Warriors join together, it hatches, but into /what/?
1. Prologue

** A/N - I do not own Digimon. I only own that which I create. =3 (Storyline, character, etc.)**

* * *

**Prologue**

"I swear this better not get us killed, Zuzu!" I spoke loudly, sending a frown at Zuzu -Izumi as everyone else calls her- who smiled broadly, letting out a small laugh, and never releasing her grip on my hand.

We were in an elevator now, and heading down faster than we should have been.

I was worried. Really worried, if not only from the speed at which the elevator was going, from the fact that we were going down past the last floor the elevator was supposed to go!

That wasn't normal, and definitely wasn't good. All I could think about was what might be waiting for us at the bottom. Heck, for all I know, we're already dead, and this is the elevator to the underworld.

Darn it. I can't die now, I still have chores to do! _**Zuzu, what in the world are you getting us into?**_

* * *

Short, yes, but it is only a prologue. The first chapter is in the works. This is very likely to be the longest I will ever write, so I hope you enjoy. =3


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

The day was a beautiful one, right from the beginning. Very few clouds were seen in the bright sky, the temperature was a comfortable warm, and the overall conditions were perfect. If it were not for the tasks I had set for myself for the day, I would have spent my time taking a walk through the nearby forest, or perhaps, relaxing in my field of a backyard, maybe taking a nice nap in the sun. But, not now. I had laundry to do, animals to take care of, and packages to pick up in town. If I worked fast enough though, I would quite possibly be able to squeeze that walk in before dinner time came around. My aunt would be making pork stew, a treat I would most definitely enjoy. Then again, who would not enjoy a home-cooked meal when they have not had one in years?

Well, my first task would be to take care of the chores in town, considering they would take the longest, and would require a tad more work than the others. There were about five shops I had to stop by, for various reasons. The tailor, to pick up a dress suit for my aunt for a business meeting she had in the morning. The grocery store, to pick up a few vegetables to be used in dinner. The bakery, to grab a special ordered cake for, well, I don't know. My aunt didn't tell me who or what the cake was for, only that I needed to get it. Also, I had to stop by the bank to deposit my latest paycheck, and the hardware store to grab a bucket of blue paint for the kitchen. I suppose carrying everything back would be a hassle, but I would manage.

My first stop would definitely be the bakery. It was the furthest away, but would make it easier for me to get everything. I could pick up the cake, then walk back down the road, and simply stop by the shops on the way back and get everything else. All of the places I needed to go were on the same road, luckily, though the road was a good few miles long, and the Bakery, well, it happened to be the mark of the road ending, and heading off to a four-way intersection leading to the city, and other attractions one could find in the area. Not very extravagant, but it was better than being in the middle of nowhere, right? After all, there's no fun in that. It's nice to live where things can always keep you guessing. It fulfills that... sense of adventure most people my age have.

A small ding alerted the bakery owner and clerk of my arrival. They both looked up and smiled brightly at me, already know what I was there to get. I'd been to the Bakery many, many times in my life, whether it was for my aunt, for a snack for myself, or to surprise someone with a delicious treat for whatever occasion happened to come along. It was one of my favorite places to be, there was no denying that. The aroma of all of the pastries being made in the back drifted through the store, filling me to the core with giddiness, more so, one pastry in particular. And I knew the moment I smelled it that I wouldn't be leaving without one. I smiled, making my way to the front counter, my attention momentarily being drawn away as the ding of the bell signified someone entering the building.

A girl, though it was no one particularly important to me."Welcome, welcome, Alessio! How have you been, dear boy? We haven't seen you in weeks!" The baker smiled warmly at me and I happily returned it, letting out a chuckle. "Have you a girl keeping you busy these days?"

"You know me, Tonie, it's just my aunt as usual. With all the chores she has me doing, I have no time for a girlfriend!" He let out a hearty laugh, patting me on the shoulder from his spot across the small counter. "Do you have it ready?"

He scratched the back of his head, his smile turning a bit nervous, "Well, y'see, your aunt called this morning and told us she didn't want you to pick up the cake until this afternoon. I think she expected you to come here last."You have to be kidding me.

The point of coming to town first, was so I didn't have to worry about being in the middle of the busiest time of the day! Well, and because it is nice to get out in the morning. "Well, darn." I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest as I tapped my foot, "Well, I suppose I'll still get the usual while I'm here. No use in wasting a trip."Tonie nodded his head, humming to himself as he made his way to the back of the shop. A short, light gasp was heard, and I turned to see who had emitted it. It was the girl who had just recently entered the shop. Her long blonde hair shimmered slightly in the light, and her eyes lit up, illuminating the room. The outfit she wore was purple, very purple, though it seemed to fit her. I smiled at her.

"I knew it was you!" The statement caught me by surprise, but no more than the tight hug she proceeded to give me. Her arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders and she giggled loudly, "I never expected to run into you!" As she pulled back, I examined her features more closely. She did not seem familiar to me.. but there was an air about her, a comfortable feeling, as though we would have known each other forever. "Come on, Lio! It's me! Zuzu!" As she spoke the name that was all too familiar to me, my eyes grew wide and I pulled her back into my arms, hugging her tightly to me for near a minute. It had been at least five years since I had last seen my best friend, and the surprise of meeting her again was one that definitely made my day even better.

"How have you been, Zuzu? What's been going on? Why are you back in town? How is everyone?" The questions spilled from my mouth before I could stop them, though all they did was cause her to smile even more. She stepped up and stood next to me at the front counter, causing my questions to cease for a few moments. As her order was placed, the clerk turned around briefly, yelling it to Tonie, who was already in the back working on mine. "What are you doing here?"One more question, one I hoped she would answer first.

Before she could though, Tonie returned to the front, handing both Zuzu and I our orders. I pulled the money from my pocket and paid the clerk, who grinned, giving us a small wave as we walked off, picking a small table in the corner to sit at, our snack, or, well, breakfast, sitting in front of us. "We recently moved back, actually. My grandmother is ill and wanted to be brought here to be taken care of, saying how the doctors are better suited to take care of an old lady."She chuckled, worry in her voice, "Other than that, we, I've, been alright. Made some new friends, caught up with all my school work. Everyone is doing well, even Markus and Randi, despite their constant fighting. She rolled her eyes as she finished her sentence, and I snickered, taking a bite of my strudel. "How about you?"

"Well," I swallowed, frowning, "Things have gotten a lot better now that I'm living with Aunt Vivian. I haven't heard from Jamis since I left, thank goodness. But geez, I'm doing so many chores for Aunt Vivian that I feel like I should be getting paid!"Zuzu giggled once more, causing my smile to return. "This one was a wild goose chase though. I can't get the cake till this afternoon, and I'm pretty sure auntie's called the rest of the shops as well, to deter me from my tasks." I paused, taking another bite.

As I gulped it down, a beeping noise erupted, echoing throughout the small shop. "What in the world _is_ that?" I quested, becoming mildly irritated at the high pitched noise. It almost sounded like the beeping of a smoke alarm, though muffled, as if covered by a cloth of some sort.

Hurriedly, Zuzu jumped out of her chair, reaching into her jacket pocket for a brief moment, pulling out her cell phone, which was the apparent source of the noise. "Oh no, I almost forgot!" Not giving an explanation, she took the final bite of her small cake and shoved her phone back into her pocket, ""I have to go! But, uhm... Wait! You don't have anything to do for a few hours, right?" She looked down at me, grinning expectantly. Slowly, I shook my head, as to signify that I did not. "Then you're coming with me!"

_**Huh!? **_I barely had time to think as she grabbed my hand, pulling me up out of the chair I was sitting in, "Going where?" No answer. She just continued smiling as she turned and began to run off. I snatched my strudel off the table before it was too late, then allowed her to pull me out of the shop, and down the road leading to the city. "Where are we going?!"Once again, no answer. Her hand gripped my tightly as we ran, every once in a while passing a speed limit or directional sign. The city was ahead, only a few miles away. Did she intend for us to run there? Knowing Zuzu, that was highly likely. The bus wouldn't pass for another twenty minutes, and if she was in a hurry, nothing was going to slow her down, especially not waiting for a stupid bus.

We jogged at an even pace, as to not wear ourselves out, I suppose. I couldn't really understand why I didn't object to being pulled along all the way to the city. Excitement? Fun? I must admit, it was nice to not have chores to do for a while... might as well enjoy the free time, right? There isn't anything wrong with that, not at all. "Hey, Zuzu. Could you at least tell me where you are bringing me and why we are going there?"She let out a happy laugh and looked back at me briefly before she spoke.

"We're going to the train station. I got a text a little while ago, on my way to the bakery actually, telling me to take the train to Shibuya to uhm.. discover my destiny!"I gave her a ridiculous look, silently asking if she was serious. Destiny was a joke and why would you listen to a text like that?! Well, it proved to me that she was still the same Izumi from my childhood. Still full of spunk, still ambitious, and still ready and willing to drag me wherever she went. It was kind of funny, I must admit.

We actually made it to the station, with energy to spare surprisingly, and got our tickets without trouble. Good luck, eh? I was expecting something bad to happen, to be honest. But no, it didn't, not as we got onto the overly-crowded train, and not as Zuzu got another message, apparently similar to the one before, telling her to board a different train at the station we were going to get off at. Hopefully it would be the last one. I wasn't very fond of trains. I'd rather walk. Or ride my bike! Maybe even roller-blade if the terrain permitted.

An announcement was made, signaling our stop. The doors of the train opened and thanks to Zuzu's mad speed skills, we were the first ones out of the train. The platform was filling slowly with people, and if we didn't hurry, we'd probably get stuck behind a line waiting to get into the elevator to the lower platform, and that was the last thing I wanted to happen. Lines are boring. Well, I think she heard my thoughts because she took off across the platform, pulling me along. The elevator was in view, and no one was around it, thankfully. She pushed the button, and as the doors opened, we stepped in, waiting for the doors to close. "I wonder if we'll have to catch another train after this one." She questioned, but I didn't answer, being wound up in thought.

A click was heard, and even though we hadn't pressed a button, the elevator started to move downwards. It was slow, and I watched the meter above the doors, a bored look on my face. Basement One, Basement Two, Basement Three. There were five floors in total, and seeing as the elevator had yet to stop, I guessed our train was on the fifth floor. A ding signified the fourth floor, and not long after, another ding signified the fifth. But the elevator did not stop, the doors did not open. I felt a small shake, and right after, we began picking up speed. "This isn't good."


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"Hey, we stopped!" In my fear, and clinging to the bar on the elevator wall, I failed to realize that we had slowed down and stopped. Blinking, I looked around, and then at the floor lights. They were off, so there was no telling how far down we actually were. A click, and a small hiss, and the doors opened. Presented before us was a very large platform, adorned with many trains, all positioned and waiting in front of their own tunnel, leading in all directions. Kids were walking around the trains, inspecting them, a few getting on them.

Zuzu got another message on her phone, basically telling us to pick a train. "So, which one?" I looked to her questioningly, crossing my arms over my chest. There were a lot to choose from, and you didn't know where one would end up bringing you, or who you'd get stuck with on the ride. It was a game of chance, I suppose, and not one I was looking forward to playing. "I don't know about you, but after all the running we just did, I don't want to walk around the platform just to look at them."

Tapping her chin for a moment in thought, she nodded, "I agree with you. Let's just get on that one." She lifted her hand and pointed to the one closest to where we were. Happily, I nodded in agreement, patting her shoulder. That was definitely good enough for me!

"Sounds perfectly fine to me!" As we walked, my attention was drawn for a moment to one of the floating clocks in between the trains. The fact that they were floating was really weird, but I passed it off as them hanging from a wire or something. Anyway, the time was three minutes until six, and the train was going to leave at six, so at least we wouldn't have to wait long. We made it to the train, and lucky us, the door was open and waiting! Needing no reason stall, we stepped in and walked to one of the bench like seats, sitting down. Then came the waiting game, which we wouldn't have a problem playing. After all, three minutes wasn't a very long time at all. And from the looks of it, we were so far, the only ones on the train. Oh yay, lucky us.

Though, it seems I thought too soon, for a large boy, and I mean large, stepped into the train almost right after we sat down, and plopped into the seat nearest the door. It seems he hadn't noticed us. Thank goodness for that. I wasn't in the mood for conversation.

The whistle blew, and just as it did, a second boy, this one much younger and smaller, was pushed harshly into the car we were in. He landed roughly on his butt, though it didn't appear to phase him, as he immediately hopped up and went for the exit. He didn't make it though. The doors all shut at the same time, and wouldn't open up again. We watched as he desperately tried to get the door open, the look on his face showing how badly he wanted to cry. And he did, after a few moments, giving up on the door and taking a seat far away from the rest of us. I felt kind of bad for him. Zuzu looked to me, knowing what I was thinking, and nodded, smiling lightly. I nodded in return and stood, walking over to the boy and sitting down next to him.

"Hey there." I spoke softly to him, smiling lightly. He looked up at me, tears rolling down his face, lip quivering as he sniffled. "Come on. Don't be upset. Everything's alright."He hesitated, opening his mouth as though he was going to talk. I placed a hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to. He closed his mouth, took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around me as best he could, crying into my shirt. It was at that moment, that the door to the car behind us opened, and a boy walked in. Looks like he was late.

An awkward look passed over his face and he lifted his phone, pointing to it as he spoke, "So.. you guys here cause of the phone.. thing?"Zuzu and the large boy nodded, making a noise to signify that they were. I glanced over to him, smiling just a bit.

"She," I pointed to Zuzu, "actually brought me here. I don't have a phone."He blinked, looking at me, then the other three, confused.

"You know. There's five of us now. You think that means something special?" I looked at Zuzu, giving her a 'really?' look, my arm wrapped around the shoulder of the small boy near me, who had calmed down a bit, but was still upset, staring sadly at the floor.

"Something.. special. What?" His expression showed even more confusion than before, "Why'd you guys get on this train?" He walked forward, talking as he did,"Was it the message?" Well, Zuzu and I picked it because it was closest to our elevator. The kid had gotten pushed on.. And taking a guess about the large boy, he picked it because it was closest, as well. And of course I was right about him. Haha.

Annoyed, he pointed his half-eaten chocolate bar at the boy, "Hey, kid. This was the closet train to the elevator, okay? Now look, just leave me alone."He looked away, lowering his chocolate bar. The boy mumbled a sarcastic apology, which I guess made chocolate boy feel bad, "I'm just nervous." He mumbled back, sighing. As though having some hope in a better reason, he turned around, looking at Zuzu, then me, asking again.

"Actually, we're with him. Closest to the elevator." I smiled for a moment, causing Zuzu to giggle. It was about that time that choco-lad noticed she was there. I rolled my eyes, immediately knowing what was coming next. "You've got to be kidding me."I mumbled to myself, sighing.

Smiling broadly, he leaned forward, "Hey honey, want some chocolate?" From you? Who would accept? Blagh.I continued to watch the scene, curious as to what my friend was going to do. Though as choco-lad stood, he pushed the boy in front of him out of the way, almost knocking him over. "So," choco-lad pointed to himself, grinning as he continued to talk, "My name's Junpei. What's yours~?" His excitement was... weird.

Though, Zuzu just smiled at him, not phased by his tactics, "Izumi. It's nice to meet you."More or less, I suppose. He isn't someone I personally would want to get to know. Yet, I had the feeling I wasn't going to be given a choice in the matter.

Awkwardly, the boy near Junpei and Zuzu spoke up, "I'm.. Takuya." Ooo. He has an interesting name. A cute one too, I must say.

"Alessio. Just call me Lio. And it is a pleasure to meet you both, Junpei and Takuya." I looked down at the little one next to me, "What's your name?"I didn't want him to feel left out. After all, he's part of our little train group as well.

Shaking a bit, he spoke, though it was almost a mumble, "I'm... Tomoki.. and I didn't want to get on this train.. Two.. b-bullies pushed me in. .and shut the door..!"More tears fell from his eyes as he looked up, causing Junpei to make some mean remark about it.

"Don't be mean, Junpei. You'll make it worse!" I sent a small glare at him and he did something of a pout, turning away from me. "And don't worry, Tomoki. You're safe now. Me and Zuzu will protect you!"He looked at me, and I grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, "Isn't that right?" Zuzu gave a smile as well, making a peace symbol with her fingers to signify that she agreed with me. Junpei and Takuya looked at me, then her, then each other, then me again, before Takuya stepped up, making a face at me.

"Hey! What about us!" He playfully glared at me, and I, going along with it, merely shrugged in a non-caring fashion, halfheartedly glaring back.

"I guess you guys can help too, but don't do anything stupid~!" I winked in their direction, chuckling. They laughed a bit as well.

All of our attention though, was directed towards the front of the train. The noise it began to make sounded somewhat like a normal train whistle.. though more... human-like, I guess, more of a voice than a whistle. The lights flickered off and the train picked up speed. It was at such a sudden rate, that it caused all of us to fall, tumbling towards the back of the train, landing painfully on the floor.

Holding onto one of the railings, I pulled myself up into a sitting position, rubbing my head as I opened one eye to make sure everyone was okay. No one looked hurt, which was goo- What the fuck is that!? Despite the fact that some translucent monster thing had appeared over each of my train-mates, and the fact that their cell phone's were now glowing, my attention was directed at what was in front of me. A sense of... emptiness, I suppose, filled me, and as it did, a glowing strip of, well, it looked like a bar-code, slipped out from my chest. It was a light, blue-ish white color and glowing just as bright as the cell phone's of my companions. It floated for a few seconds before descending, beginning to swirl around. Slowly, it began to take shape, swirling in the same pattern around and around and around. As the last bit left me, I took a deep breath, attempting to fill that large emptiness now within me. It felt horrible.. like I wasn't whole anymore. Tears began to build up in my eyes, but I forced them back. This was really not the time to be crying.

I continued to breath heavily as I watched the last bit of the bar-code wrap around the shape, completing it. "It's an... egg."It continued to glow as it solidified, the bar-code melding together to form a solid form, a shell. As it formed, solidified, the glow faded, and left in front of my was a large, white egg with colored stripes on it. One red, one blue, one yellow, one pink, one black, and one green. I stared at it curiously for a few seconds before reaching out and grabbing it. As my hands touched it, I felt a warmth flow from my fingertips, up my arms, and into my heart.

"I think you got the short end of the stick." I blinked, looking up at Junpei, "We got these cool things and you got breakfast." He waved his new toy in front of me, causing me to stick my tongue out at him, gently hugging the strange egg.

"It isn't breakfast, you dolt. It's uhm..." Yeah, I didn't really know what it was. Just a giant, colorful egg. Oh! Like an Easter egg, but really big! "It's an oversized Easter egg."He laughed, holding out a hand to me to help me up. I accepted it gratefully.

A light gasp from Zuzu got everyone's attention, and we looked where she was staring. Outside of the train were hundreds of little while squishy things! They looked like ghost marshmallows! Snickering, I walked over to the window, keeping an eye on the floating creatures. One of them stuck itself to the window right in front of Zuzu. She watched it curiously, though her expression turned to one of shock and horror as the creature pressed itself closer and closer to the glass, giving itself a really creepy look. She screamed and all of them began to float away, laughing.

Takuya let out a small groan, "They're probably the ghosts of the kids who came here before us!" I rolled my eyes. Idiot.

"Oh, calm down. We're all in this together, so you'll be fine." He nodded, though sighed, looking worried. I placed a hand on his shoulder.

He looked back at me and I gave him a reassuring smile, which he somewhat returned, before looking at the egg I was holding, not sure what to think. "Where'd that come from?" Removing my hand from his shoulder, I repositioned the egg in my arms, holding it carefully.

I looked at it, then him, "Well, it formed from some glowing line of bar-code that slipped out of my chest." He placed his hand on it, giving it a slight pet, a grin making it's way onto his face. "What are you smiling about?" He grinned wider.

"If that hatches, you're gonna be a mommy!" He snickered, exclaiming in a teasing voice. My face heated up in both embarrassment and anger and I glared, pushing my glasses up. Of course, his little outburst got everyone else's attention, and they started up as well with the teasing.

It was funny at first, and I didn't mind, but.. "That's enough."My tone was low and serious, and catching the hint, they stopped. "We're at the train station!" Almost immediately, my tone changed to it's normal one, and I smiled, looking out the window. "Lots of fire."

The trained slowed to a stop, earning a sigh of relief from me. The doors all opened, steam being released from under them. We gathered around one of the doors, peaking out curiously. Covering the platform were little.. mutated rabbit looking things. They were talking to each other, something about humans and having someone to play with.. and to hopefully not hurt. I don't like the looks of these little creeps. I felt a slight brush of air against my back, just for a moment, before we were pushed out of the train by air pressure and steam, landing right in the middle of the group of creepers. I somehow managed to land sitting up, earning a sigh of relief as my egg wasn't harmed. "Hehe. Watch it. That first step's a doozie!" A voice, and not one any of us was familiar with.. was coming from.. the train!?

"Did the train just.. talk to us?" Yes, yes I believe it did Takuya. Ugh. Now I've seen everything... actually, no. Here? Probably not.

Letting out more steam, the train shut it's doors, "Hey! I'm not just any old train! I'm Trailmon! I'm alive just like you, although, I am more handsome than you little flesh bags, thank you very much." It spoke proudly, though it was obvious it was just playing around. "Anyways, this is the Flame Terminal in the heart of a Digimon village." We all looked at it confused. Digimon? Flame Terminal? So weird.

"Digimon village?"Takuya asked, though received no answer as the group of mutant rabbit blobs got closer to us, grinning wildly as they spoke again.

They were only saying that stuff to try and scare us, though I seemed to be the only one who realized this. "Would you all just shut up. You aren't scary."I rolled my eyes at them, inwardly grinning as I saw them getting mad, "Not like you could really do anything anyway, considering you're... well, the size of a soccer ball." They growled, and one hopped forward some, glaring quite hatefully at me.

"I'll show you scary you stupid human!" The one who had hopped just a moment before, lunged at me, teeth bared as it yelled in anger. I waiting until it was in just the right spot, then swiftly kicked it as hard as I could from my current position, causing it to fly up and over the Trailmon, landing with a painful thump on the other side of the platform. I smirked proudly at my work and looked at the rest of the group, who all hopped back a couple feet, not wanting to be kicked like their friend.

"Nice one, Lio!" Zuzu grinned at me, and I snickered, smiling, though the moment of slight happiness was broken as Tomoki started crying again.

"I don't want to be heeeeeere!"The Trailmon began backing up, probably to go back to wherever it had come from in the first place.

"Sorry kid. If you wanna get home, you better go find a spirit or somethin'!" And with that, it was out of the terminal.

We all looked to where the train was headed, which to me looked to be off a cliff. "Wait! What's a spirit and where do we find one?" Zuzu was ignored, though JP yelled back at the Trailmon as well, getting no more information than we already had.

I stood up, and everyone else, except Tomoki, followed my example, though they were yelling at the train to come back. I sighed, not bothering to try that. It was already gone and probably wasn't going to be coming back any time soon. "Take me hoooooome!"Tomoki yelled before getting up, taking off running in the direction Trailmon went. It took a second to register in our minds what he was doing. I growled low to myself as it clicked, carefully handing my egg to Zuzu before hopping down on the tracks and running after him, Takuya right beside me.

"Hey! Wait up!" Though he didn't listen to us. He just kept running, all the way to the edge of the cliff. "Tomoki! Stop, that's dangerous!" As we got to the edge, he was already walking across the track, with surprisingly good balance.

"C'mon, Tomoki! We'll get you home!" That caused the small boy to pause, looking back. Good job, Takuya. "Trailmon said that.. if we find a spirit we can go home! That's what we'll do! You just have to come back before you fall!"

Nodding, Tomoki began to turn around, Takuya's words giving him hope enough to trust us to get him home. I sighed relieved. "You're good." I spoke to Takuya, who simply smiled in return.

We both looked to Tomoki, keeping a close eye on him as he made his way across the railing, slowly so he wouldn't fall. It was nerve-wracking to watch, and it took a lot to not just run out and grab him, but we had to trust that he would make it back alright. Tomoki was being as careful as possible, and it gave me a good feeling. He was going to make it back just fi-

Oh shit. Maybe not.

The ground shook violently, knocking just about everyone off balance. I held my ground, never taking my eyes off Tomoki. He wobbled, and my eyes widened as he slipped,barely managing to grab onto the rail for dear life.

"Tomoki!"I didn't give Takuya a chance to even blink before I ran onto the track myself, "Don't move okay? I'm coming to help."Balance. Just concentrate on being balanced and you'll be fine. Breathe evenly, don't freak out. Very ni-

Okay. What the fuck is that. Or, better question, what the hell was happening?


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

I'd never seen green fire before, so that was definitely a new one for me; I couldn't take my eyes off of it, especially considering the fact that it had just dissolved a part of the train station! That's definitely not a good sign. "L-lio!"Okay, taking my attention away from the scary fire, I continued making my way to Tomoki, "I'm scared!"

"I know, little guy, I know, but I'm coming."I'd have to thank my Aunt for putting me in Gymnastics when I was younger otherwise I know I'd have fallen to my death by now. "Just a little bit more, alright? Can you push yourself up a little? So I can grab you?"

Shakily, he lifted his head,staring up at me with a tear stained face, but nodded, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "L-like this?" I nodded, smiling softly at him as I stopped, holding out my hands. As he reached up, and I took his hands in mine, I froze, a deep chill running through my spine as a dark, deep growl was heard. I wasn't the biggest fan of dogs of any sort, and I didn't even have to look to know that the one that just showed up was not friendly at all. "L-Lio?"

C'mon, Alessio, you can be afraid later, first you have to save Tomo- "Where is the ancient spirit!?"Of course it can talk, why wouldn't it be able to talk? Everyone else can talk in this place! "I can sense it's presence and I must destroy it! You cannot hide it from me!" And it's also after the same thing the train told us to look for. Can this day get any worse?

Taking a deep breath, I pulled Tomoki up onto the rail, "Hold still." I lowered myself slowly to a sitting position, then turned, my legs on either side of it, "Climb on my back."He did so, wrapping his arms around my neck, still allowing me to breathe, thank goodness, and his legs wrapped as best they could around my waist. "Hold on tight, okay? No matter what, and do not open your eyes until I say so." He didn't say anything, but I felt him nod into my shoulder.

I just had to stand back up and get him to the platform and we'd be fine, we'd be okay. It wasn't that far and so long as-

"No way, it's **mine!**" Takuya, you really need to learn how to keep your mouth shut, because all you're going to do is piss it off. Which... oh... hell...

So I took that moment to actually look at the dog that had joined our little party, and quite unfortunately found myself unable to move at all. In fact, I think I even started shaking, my eyes widened, and I almost lost my glasses. "A-are you s-scared of dogs, L-Lio?" I couldn't talk, so I just nodded, attempting to take in a deep breath. "W-Well that one i-is really b-big and-"

"Then I shall destroy you as well!" It opened it's mouth wide and inside was a swirling, glowing green flame, "Emerald Blaze!" It was aiming at Takuya... it was going to.. kill.. Takuya... he wasn't moving. Why wasn't he getting out of the way!?

"**Takuya!**" My yell startled him and he pushed himself to the side, just barely avoiding the first burst of fire shot in his direction. "**Get out of the damn way!**" Unsure of where to go, what to do, he jumped up and ran, ran towards us, of all places. Just as he reached us, the ground where he'd been standing only moments before turned blue and the dog-thing- looked to be sucking it in. He was eating the platform!

Takuya looked at me, and at that point, tears had started making their way down my face -I was that afraid-, and pulled me to him in a tight hug, his arms wrapping not only around myself, but Tomoki as well. "The train tracks!" A small, yellow rabbit looking creature, who had attached itself to Takuya's shoulder, yelled, frightened. The train tracks were gone, which meant the rail we were on wasn't attached to anything anymore.

I held onto Takuya, forcing my eyes closed as we began to slide down the bending rail. "I won't let go, I promise." He whispered into my ear and I felt his arms tighten around us. We slid down to where the rail had been detached and fell the rest of the way -though it was only about ten or so feet-, landing on our sides. "Are you two alright?"

"Y-yeah." Tomoki was still crying, though not as much as he was originally -the shock and fear of the situation likely a reason for that-, but I couldn't respond. I pulled away from them both, pushing myself onto my hands and knees, just breathing. "I don't t-think Lio is t-though.."

As Takuya moved to get up, the device his cell phone had turned into fell from his pocket, though it didn't hit the ground. No, going along with the never ending stream of weirdness that seemed to make up the day, it floated, a bright white light emitting from the top as the screen lit up, an unknown -at least to me- symbol glowing almost as bright as the light. It turned, pointing itself in front of us, where a large fire was burning, though not nearly as big as the green one the monster dog had caused, and from it shot a glowing beam.

"What in the world.."The fire then exploded, which I'm guessing was triggered by the light, and disappeared, being replaced by a stream of light -lots of light shows going on around here today-. Inside of it though... something was there, something powerful. "Is that...?"

"Yes, a spirit. The Spirit of Flame."

"Spirit of.. Flame... Looks like it's for you, Takuya."I pushed myself up, standing, albeit shakily, and held my hands out to Tomoki and Takuya, who took them, pulling themselves up.

"Okay but... How in the world do I get it? Or use it for that matter?!"

You know, I'm not entirely sure, but he'd better figure it out before that monster jumps down here and tries... to... I really need to learn to not think about these things.

Once again, I was frozen I place, as the monster's voice came from behind me. The only reason I even turned to look was that Tomoki's hand was still in mine and he turned me with him. I felt a squeeze of comfort, though it didn't do much for me. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. It won't be there long enough for it to matter!" Letting out a loud, mocking laugh, the monster jumped forward, intent on removing us from it's path and destroying the spirit.

The train -Trailmon, I reminded myself- said we needed a spirit if we wanted to get home. We needed this if we wanted to get the heck out of this crazy place... we needed it to get Tomoki out of here, to keep him safe... This spirit.. "That spirit b-belongs to Takuya! We need t-that to get home and there's n-no way in h-hell I'm going to let you take it away!"Summoning all of the courage, strength, I could, I pushed Tomoki behind me and snatched up a long, metal pipe from the ground, it having been knocked from the railing when we fell. "Takuya, get the spirit!"

"I have to say, Lio, this ranks pretty high on a scale of one to stupid!" I turned for a brief moment and shoved him back before taking a swing at the monster just as it landed in front of us. It flinched, if just slightly and paused, shaking it's head, though as I went to swing again, it grabbed the pipe with it's teeth, ripped it out of my hands -tearing some skin with it-, and flung it off the cliff.

"Get out of my way!" I didn't get the chance to respond before it grabbed my arm in it's maw, tossing me off to the side like the pipe, though I was lucky enough to not fall off the cliff. Though, I have to say, for a brief moment, I wished I had made it that far because the horrible pain shooting throughout my arm and shoulder was enough to make me scream, a fresh batch of tears rolling down my cheeks.

I did my best to ignore it, rolling onto my side, just to see the monster knocking Takuya into the beam of light. He stood tall and proud in front of the spirit, the monster standing before him, snarling, "Move, human, this has nothing to do with yo-" It didn't get to finish it's threat, and I almost wanted to laugh, as the fire breathing demon dog burst into flame, "The spirit's power!"

Seems like the spirit doesn't want anything to do with the big bad doggy.

It jumped away from Takuya and the spirit, out of the light, and slammed into the ground, rolling around furiously in a pathetic attempt to put out the fire burning angrily on his back. It really deserved that.

"T-Tomoki.." He glanced back, running over to me as quickly as he could, kneeling down, "I-Is.. Takuya.. okay?"

"I.. I don't know.." Together, we looked over as Tomoki helped me sit up, unable to believe -but having no other choice- what was happening before us. Takuya was... fine. He didn't catch fire like the monster did, and.. he actually looked like he knew what he was doing.

"Spirit!" He called out to it, his body beginning to glow. The device, which was laying on the ground near where we'd fallen, rose into the air, glowing once again as it shot into Takuya's open hand. He stood, arms apart, the device in one hand while a blue, glowing -there is really a lot of that happening, goodness- strip, one that looked exactly like what had came out of my chest on the train, circling the other.

"Execute," He moved, using the device to scan the strip around his other hand, an obvious power building as he did so, "Spirit Evolution!"

I decided at that point that I would not question anything else strange or weird or abnormal that happened to us for the remaining time period that we were in this place, because watching Takuya fuse, yes, fuse, with the Spirit of Flame tops anything I could possibly think that could happen. It was amazing, terrifying, but amazing,

His name now was Agunimon, and judging by the look on the monster's face, what Takuya had just done was either very good or very, very bad. "A human!? Turn into a digimon?!" Seems the monster was just as surprised as we were.

The two who had fallen with us that were attached to Takuya, scrambled towards us, making sure to be as far away from whatever was about to happen as possible. "You," I nudged the white one with my foot, as he looked a tad more intelligent than the rabbit, "What.. what just happened?"

"It would appear that your friend has become one with the Spirit of Flame. He is now Agunimon." You know, I really shouldn't have asked because I figured that much out on my own.

"I don't care who or what you are, I will destroy you!"Once again, the monster went for him -you think he'd have learned-, but Takuya, no, Agunimon, easily jumped out of the way, and over to us. This gave me the chance to see just how **big** this guy was and... just wow.

He scooped the lot of us up into his arms and in one swift motion, jumped all the way back up to the platform where Junpei and Zuzu were waiting, worried and frightened. "Take care of him." He set us down in front of them, and they both began to freak out, about my arm and the fact that Takuya was now a digimon and dead set on taking care of the monster issue.

"I'm going to have to take off your jacket, alright? It's going to hurt."I nodded to Zuzu and raised my good arm, helping her remove that sleeve first before carefully peeling off the other. I bit down hard on my cheek, almost enough to make it bleed, to ensure I didn't make any noise. "He really got you good... I'd call you stupid, but you were trying to protect them."

My arm wasn't as bad off as it felt, just a few puncture wounds and a bit of tearing. It'd be more sore than anything after it was all said and done, but there wasn't anything we could do there. "I'm... I'm fine, okay? We'll clean it up... after. Just keep an eye on him." I knew he'd be alright, we all did, but I didn't want to miss out on watching that monster get his butt kicked.

Or... not.

Doggy knew more than one trick, and as large holes appeared in the ground, one of which Agunimon managed to land in, thanks to a cheap shot by said dog. It jumped in after him though and as the portals closed, I really began to worry.

"Anyone else have a bad feeling about this?"

"He'll be fine, Junpei... I know it." I wasn't about to let my worry cloud my judgement. Takuya would be fine, especially now. He wasn't alone and he was far from defenseless.

"I'm really glad we didn't bet on that."

A tornado of fire burst from the ground, Agunimon in the center of it. As the fire dispersed he took one more hard hit at the beast, and right before our eyes, it too started to turn into the glowing strip. "What is that? The glowing stuff, I mean."

"That would be data. Now that Cerberumon is defeated, Agunimon is absorbing his data, also known as a fractal code, into the d-tector." I'd have to thank him later because that answered a hell of a lot more questions than I asked, but filled in a lot of the blanks.

As the last of the code was absorbed, an egg was left, seeming to be made up of the same material, and it floating up and away, shooting off into the sky.

An egg... just like mine, but less solid-looking. Speaking of, "Junpei, where is..?" Knowing what I was talking about, he held up my egg, safe and sound. Smiling softly, I nodded, and we turned out attention back to Agunimon -no, Takuya- who was kneeling on the ledge below. He was... alright. Tired, it seemed, but alright. After a brief conversation with his d-tector, he stood, and slowly made his way back up to where we were.

Looks like it was time for a more detailed explaination, courtesy of the know-it-all digimon.


End file.
